Hey everyone. We’ve been really busy lately (*long fart noise* school *long fart noise*) and it’s got us thinking about a time when we didn’t have so much to do. When the present is stressful, good things from the past are like a warm blanket and mug of hot chocolate. Especially as we approach the end of the decade, this is a perfect time to take comfort in the things we remember fondly.
Here’s something nostalgic.
the parent trap
The Parent Trap (1991) is one of those movies that can be immediately associated with childhood. The movie starts off with the perfect summer camp. Memories rush back of duffels being carried off buses, meeting new friends, and pranking your long lost twin sister. Annie and Halle have perfect parents who somehow managed to overcome their dramatic split and live out their separate dreams of owning an entire vineyard and becoming a famous wedding dress designer. The girls are both amazing at everything: poker, fencing, and… piercing ears, apparently. Despite one rainy day, everything seems sunny in their world.
The Parent Trap is a perfect movie, one that captured all of our hearts as children because we wanted to believe that perfect lives were possible. Countless sleepovers ended with The Parent Trap and it became every kid’s dream to find their long lost twin and reunite their parents (who probably weren’t even separated to begin with). The movie has a killer soundtrack that includes “L.O.V.E”, “Do You Believe in Magic”, and “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)”. With songs like that it’s impossible not to be transported to another time where anything seemed possible...and Lindsay Lohan had never gone to rehab.
percy jackson
When it comes to childhood nostalgia, what could possibly be more pertinent than the book series that had you and everyone else you know suspecting that they might be the off-spring of a greek god/goddess. That’s right, we’re talking about the legendary, fantastical teen adult phenomenon that is Percy Jackson. Now we’re not going to lie to you and say that every single Percy Jackson book is a good one. Everyone can admit that by the end of Heroes of Olympus you were about ready to stop believing in any god all together. Nothing, however (save Harry Potter), can come close to magical experience that was reading the first series. It had everything you could wish for. Magic creatures, cool powers, and a main character that never seems to take anything seriously.
In fact, this book series was so good that it had the potential to make millions and millions of dollars at the box office. Unfortunately, Hollywood likes to butcher everything we hold dear. Regardless of how awful the movie was, this books will always have a place in our hearts.
“ribs” by lorde
A song explicitly about nostalgia, “Ribs” has become the epitome of every angsty teen’s fear and disdain of growing up. Lorde, only 16 years old at the time, was inspired to write this song after she threw a house party while her parents were out of town. The track begins with a haunting buzz that builds to a beat that seems to be running away from itself. Lorde sings like she’s trying to keep up with this electro tune, maybe in fear that if she doesn’t she’ll lose hold of her childhood and have to face growing up. With each passing moment she grows more anxious and pleads “I want ‘em back / the minds we had.” In the same four minutes, Lorde sings about spilling drinks on a drunken night and sharing beds at sleepovers as kids. Whatever memory from the past you desperately try to cling to doesn’t matter; you just know you’re not ready to move forward.
memes
As this decade comes to an end, it’s interesting to reflect and see what these past ten years have brought us. One of the most important cultural movements led the 2010’s was creation of memes. Popularization of apps like iFunny, Twitter and Instagram birthed classic memes like Bad Luck Brian and Skeptical Baby. But that’s so 2012. Memes have evolved so much that some require lots of context in order to understand what is being depicted. Some have even begun to offer social commentary, just as political cartoons do. But the most revolutionary aspect of these humorous trends is the velocity at which events are “meme”-ed. Within hours of the Mason Rudolph-Myles Garrett fight someone had edited Patrick Star saying, “That guy got hit in the head with a coconut” while the fight was cropped to be playing on Patrick’s TV screen. Memes serve as a perfect example of the media’s interconnectedness with the rapid news cycle. Where they’re headed is anyone’s guess, but expect them to get a lot weirder.
Phat mems. If you enjoyed, please share it with your friends and tell them to sign up! We’ll be back next week. Peace.